Psalm 119:17-24

Psalm 119:17-24
New International Version (NIV)

  I've spent a fair amount of time in England -- it's a country that speaks the same language we do, and yet they use it very differently.  They have words we do not, and some of the same words are used quite differently, so if you have a conversation with someone from Britain, you may notice that something feels a bit off.  It's just not quite right, and you have to pay attention to notice the slight difference.  If you're American, it's not quite home, but feels pretty comfortable all the same.
  Here in this world, it's pretty comfortable.  We recognize the world and live in it, but it's not quite right.  Some of the things within this world, they seem right, but there's something a little off about them.  The devil has twisted some things so that they seem like beauty and love and truth, but they aren't quite.  They are imitations, and if we aren't careful, we fall in love with the substitutes, only to realize too late that they aren't pointing to the true and beautiful God that has created out of abundance and splendor.  Our wayward hearts fall in love with the wrong things, and we realize that we are strangers in a strange land.
  Our hearts are calling us home, pointing us to the one who made us, to the one who calls us his own, to the one who redeems us and sends his Son to show us his love.  You are beloved, friend, and you were made for truth and beauty and selfless love.  Let God love you, and treasure the things in this world that reflect the love of God, and seek to share them with the world around you.  Our souls call for them -- let us do what we can to point others to God while we keep our hearts focused on our true home.